Ruby sins prove frustrating

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NEW Zealanders The Ruby Suns may have written some gems for their third album, Fight Softly, but then they've gone and polished them so much there's practically nothing left.
The group could be the greatest indie pop band to walk the face of the earth, but so much plodding electronica and computerised psychedelia and world music ornamentation is piled on top of tracks like Haunted House and Mingus And Pike, the listener hasn't a chance of knowing.
The results end up more like a poor Pet Shop Boys than a padded-out Peter Bjorn And John - with the rare chances that songs are given to establish themselves, such as the simple groove of Dusty Fruit, being the only glimmers of The Ruby Suns' previous promise.